Springfield, Mass. - February 22, 2020 - The Springfield College women's basketball team used a strong first half to propel itself past Wellesley, 49-36, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday at Blake Arena. 

The win lets the Pride close out the regular season with an 18-7 record overall and a 9-1 record in NEWMAC league play. Springfield has won nine of their last 10 contests.

First year Sam Hourihan (Bridgewater, Mass.) paced Springfield with a 10-point and 12-rebound double-double to go along with three blocks while senior Taylor Hall (Tolland, Conn.) contributed five points and eight rebounds. Off the bench, Stephanie Lyons (Boston, Mass.) contributed nine points, five rebounds, and a pair of helpers. Springfield collectively outrebounded the Blue, 44-32. 

Springfield rattled off 14 unanswered points to begin the first period, highlighted by four points from Hourihan. Lauren Rudolph (Franklin, Mass.) hit a three at the 7:29 mark, with Alex Goslin (South Windsor, Conn.) getting the assist. With just over a minute remaining, Grace Dzindolet (Holliston, Mass.) followed with another three, giving Springfield a 14-0 lead. Wellesley scored its first points with 22 seconds remaining in the quarter, as Springfield produced three blocks and outrebounded the Blue 15-6 to end the period. 

Hourihan converted a layup to start the second quarter, pushing the Pride's lead to 16-2. With 4:55 remaining, Lyons hit a fast break layup to open a 20-6 advantage. Springfield ended the half with a 22-8 lead, holding Wellesley to just six points in the second quarter. Springfield limited the Blue to 2-of-14 shooting in the quarter. 

Wellesley cut its deficit to nine points in the third quarter when Pujita Shulka hit a three pointer with 6:42 remaining, while Dzindolet answered with her second three of the game to give Springfield a 30-18 lead, with 4:54 remaining. The sophomore led the Pride in scoring for the period, netting five points off the bench to help Springfield retain a double-digit lead heading into the final quarter, 35-22. 

The Pride netted seven consecutive points to begin the final period, opening its biggest lead of the game at 42-22 with 7:38 remaining. The cushion allowed the Pride to ease to the 49-36 victory. 

Next up, Springfield will compete in the NEWMAC Championship tournament against WPI. The Pride clinched the No. 2 overall seed in next week's NEWMAC Women's Baskeball Championship Tournament.

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